Miniature Victorian Christmas Mantle

FA LA LA LA LA!!!! Are you filled with holiday spirit yet? Pretty sure I'm driving people nuts with my gung-ho yule-tiding and my out of tune carol warbling.

When I was deciding on what sort of project to create for gslcuts.com this month I saw the 

"Narrow Victorian Fireplace" in my stash and knew I wanted to create a cozy Christmas mantle.

It's a pretty little thing. Just a few little additions, extra wee touches, make a big difference here.

Some simple strips of cardboard are added as decorative elements. I've also trimmed the outer arch from the "Wrought Iron Window Grate" as it perfectly reflects the curve of the opening of the fireplace. Finally, a flourish from this Silicone Mold is added as a focal element. But don't feel limited by these suggestions! You could use any elements you like and by painting everything with a heavy coat of white paint it will all come together.

Inside the fireplace I've used 1/2 Inch Tiles on the floor, and Red Brick Wall Scrapbook Paper to line the interior. 

Note: There IS a small notch in the back of the fireplace so that you can easily add lighting. I'm not quite ready to add lighting yet so I've papered over that hole. When I install this inside a dollhouse I'll cut out the notch so that I can have a glowing hearth.

Because I've been a bit holiday crazy, I've decorated this mantle with all sorts of seasonal bits. Miniature jingle bells, ribbon and garland. Fairy sized Christmas cards dot the mantle. There's a plate of tiny cookies and a glass of milk too.

See that little iron grate? It's the gate from this Mini Fence and Gate painted matte black and curved slightly to fit the opening perfectly.

Want to create your own? Great! I have a walkthough to show you how I put the fireplace together.  You can find the video HERE.

And here are all the bits you'll need to create this project:

Narrow Victorian Fireplace
Wrought Iron Window Grate C23X
1/2 Inch Tiles
Red Brick Wall Scrapbook Paper
focal element such as these Architectural Flourishes
acrylic paint
glue

The decorative elements I used include:
Fairy sized Christmas cards
Green Leaf Garland
wrapped chocolates
1" sisal tree
miniature jingle bells, gift boxes, stocking, candycanes, cookies and milk
ribbon

Santa Heads up the Fireplace by Betsy Skagen

It is late Christmas Eve and miniature Santa has just left tiny toys by the fireplace for good little girls and boys. 

He made sure to sample the gingerbread cookies and glass of milk before he left. You can even see his nibble marks on one of the cookies. 

 

Tutorial: How to Make Santa's Fireplace

Begin by assembling the sides and back of the Narrow Victorian Fireplace. Leave off the top, top interior tier and front. 

Paint all the surface with black gesso. You can omit the interior top tier. Also don't worry about painting between the two interior walls. 

Mix black gesso with modeling paste and spread on interior back and aides of the fireplace. Use an old credit card and an old pencil to create the brick pattern. Let dry. 

Place the front of the fireplace in position and adhere with strong glue. Repeat the brick making process for the exterior of the fireplace. 

Cover the fireplace with a light gray paint. 

Paint each individual brick with assorted colors of paint including burgundy or brick, brown, red and a dark yellow.

Touch up any grout with the light gray paint. 

Cut the back and head off an old Santa ornament and insert into fireplace. Adhere with strong glue.

I decided to dry brush some gray paint onto the interior back wall of the fireplace so that it was easier to see Santa's boots. 

Cut out wood-grained paper for the top and sides of your mantel. I aged the paper using brown and black inks.  Glue it onto the fireplace.

Cut stockings from felt, add miniature candy and adhere to the mantle. 

Add tiny logs and glue in place.

Cut a bite out of some wooden gingerbread and adhere to a dollhouse plate. Drop some white paint into a dollhouse glass. Add all of these to the top of the mantle.

Cut a rectangle from an upholstery sample to use as your base. Add miniature toys, wreath and tiny vintage games.

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I hope this inspires you to make your own miniature Christmas scene. -Betsy

Great Stuff

Narrow Victorian Fireplace

Miniature vintage games

Strong adhesive

Black gesso

Modeling paste

Acyclic paint

Upholstery sample

Miniature toys

Bottlebrush wreath

Dollhouse dishes and candy

Wooden gingerbread men